painted airstream

[chucky7]

I just purchased a 1974 31 sovereign. I got a really good deal on it and want to do some remodeling. The metal is in great shape but the previous owner painted cool seal around the tops of the windows and the 3 strips on the roof the whole way down. He said he did it to prevent leaks. There is no sign of previous water damage so I am lead to believe him. I want to polish the camper and was wondering what should I use to remove the cool seal that won't damage the aluminum?

[68Streamline]

I bought a painted 1958 Flying Cloud. I've tried different brands and types of paint strippers but by far KLEAN-STRIP Aircraft paint remover (15minutes) works best. Please read the safety precautions. This stuff is strong. Avoid glass, plastic and some rubber. In my case the PO painted the AS to hide some dents. For a 22'er I used about 7gals of this stuff.

[chucky7]

Ok thanks. I will have to try to find some. Was it pretty simple like apply and wash off or did you really have to scrub it? Mine is like a rubber almost. Is that stripper very expensive? Did you polish yours?

[vswingfield]

Wow! I hope it worked.

It sure is ugly!

[DKB_SATX]

That picture is SO much worse than I imagined... I thought he coated the whole top in KoolSeal, not just the rivet lines. At least there's less for you to strip!

Considering where you'll be applying stripper, you should plan to re-seal those seams with normal Airstream material once the KoolSeal stuff is removed.

[chucky7]

I will have to check in to resealing it. I am new to the Airstream world!! At first I was just gonna buy it and sell it but now that I have it I wouldn't mind remodeling it. Everything works and there are hardly any dents in the metal.

[68Streamline]

Originally Posted by chucky7

Ok thanks. I will have to try to find some. Was it pretty simple like apply and wash off or did you really have to scrub it? Mine is like a rubber almost. Is that stripper very expensive? Did you polish yours?

At Home Depot it's about $27/gal. Apply A thick coat using a 3" paint brush, allow 5-10mins for this stuff to bubble through (do not allow to dry). Then use an automotive plastic scrapper. Be careful not to gouge the aluminum. I used CitriStrip to remove the last layer.

You won't use as much as I did. My airstream had 4 layers of paint!

Somewhat before and after pics.

[chucky7]

Wow what a difference. Why did you leave the roof? Are they hard to polish and does it last very long? They look awesome when there done. I live really close to Bates which is a Airstream dealer they get $200-300 a ft!!

[68Streamline]

Originally Posted by chucky7

Wow what a difference. Why did you leave the roof? Are they hard to polish and does it last very long? They look awesome when there done. I live really close to Bates which is a Airstream dealer they get $200-300 a ft!!

Kinda like the white roof. I'm also a newbie so polishing was hard to do. Around here the range is about $100-200/linear ft. Good luck and have fun with your project.

[chucky7]

I was thinking about painting the roof solid also if it wouldn't come off. Thinks for the advice.